Portraits - Arianna, Edinburg, Texas

Since I have fallen behind on blogging, I just realized I never blogged a really cute and very last minute session from back in January. This was the second time I photographed Arianna with a session set up randomly for her modeling career. Thankfully, I was able to squeeze her in one afternoon to complete her portraits just in time for one of her modeling competitions.

I may have mentioned before, but shooting in cold and overcast days makes for some really nice photos :) Arianna's session was on a chilly day with a sky full of white. I think it resulted in some beautiful imagery and worked great with the "style" she wanted to convey. Great job Arianna!

I see great things in this young lady's bright future :)

Have a great day!!!

Family. Love ;)

Last weekend I met one of my 2011 couples for their engagement session at Estero Llano Grande in Weslaco, Texas. I arrived about an hour early to walk around and enjoy the beautiful Sunday afternoon. It was amazingly peaceful and I fell completely in love with the area. I am not much of a bird enthusiast but I do enjoy a good nature park. Estero Llano Grande has become one my new favorite places to visit and daydream at. 

Amazing weather only make this location so much more serene and ideal for brainstorming ideas. It is also immensely large compared to what I imagined it would be in my mind. By the time my session began last week, I had only explored about one fourth of the park. I knew immediately that I wanted to come back for a visit soon.

And I did. I knew I wanted to bring my little brothers to explore the area with me. Most importantly, I wanted to bring them with me so we could all see the alligators! Yes, alligators! Now when they told me last Sunday to make sure I visited Alligator Lake to seem some gators, I imagined little itty-bitty gators. Mini sized :)

I figured I could safely protect my brothers in case of any danger so I knew they'd be coming back with me. It would make for a great adventure. And it did, trust me... As we made our way through the park and hiked along the trails, we reached Alligator Lake. There was a bench, right next to the water and we took a seat. The four of us, clenched together. We waited, and waited. We saw turtles and birds but no alligators in sight. 

I was excited and determined to wait until I saw one come up for air. Then it did. Both of them. Both of the gigantically-humongously-huge alligators. They were way larger than what I had pictured!!! My excitement quickly turned to nervousness and our adventure was really an adventure now. We were amazed, excited, nervous, and just rushing with adrenaline or something when we saw the alligators in a natural environment. 

I quickly realized there was no way I'd be wrestling a gator that afternoon so we made sure to stay on the trail and keep our distance. Regardless, it was our favorite part of the park. After a few hours of hiking through the trails, we enjoyed a wide range of emotions: anger, annoyance, fear, nervousness, excitement, happiness... everything! As siblings, we truly did fight and make up about every five minutes. 

Definitely the best part of having siblings ;) 

I love my little brothers, who I may add are way bigger than me by now. As the eldest and only girl, I feel like I am their second mother. I am very protective of them and I hope to set a good example for them to follow. Brandon, AJ and Michael, I love you!!!

Photos of me by my brothers :)

Did I mention it was windy? 

 I took the little D60 with a 35mm lens... this is the best I could get while staying alive ;)

Be blessed!!!

Portrait Collection ♥ The Enriquez - McAllen, Texas

This is officially the third time photographing any member or all of the Enriquez Family -- and I never get tired of it!!!

L.T., the head of the family ;), entered the L.O.V.E. contest I held a little while back right before Valentine's Day. His winning entry was:

"The person I'm in love with is my wife, because shes mine... she is the sun in my sky.. and my angel here on earth. Every day that I wake up to her is a blessing, I don't remember how I ever made it through a day without her by my side. She is not only the most beautiful girl I've ever seen, but she is the sweetest person I know, she is a great mom to both my boys and she always puts us before herself. I love this girl with all my heart...and I cant wait to see what our future holds for us, but whatever it is I know its going to be great as long as its with her."

All of the entries were amazing and definitely fun to read. Thankfully, I did not have to pick the winner. Thanks to my eldest younger brother, I was off the hook from choosing. Instead, my brother read through all the entries, narrowed his top picks and eventually chose the winner. He chose the winning entry because he could relate most to what that individual had written - it was so sincere and truly showed he was absolutely in love with his wife. I have to agree.

L.T. and Leah have hired me to photograph their youngest child, Ryan, when he was just a few weeks old and later on for their first family photo. This time around, Ryan is a little bit older and completely awake for the session. And the weather was much more cooperative than their holiday session but we were definitely on a time crunch with literally just a few minutes before the sun set. 

Leiah wanted a new family session for Valentine's Day - that's what she wanted L.T. to get her. And he did, his winning entry won them a LOVE session. This family is absolutely beautiful and dear to my heart. I know there are great things coming to them and I look forward to seeing their beautiful boys grow up via my camera.

Leiah and L.T. thank you once again for allowing me to capture a glimpse in your lives and photograph your adorable family. Best wishes for the new year and may you grow together in love. Be blessed!!!

Matt and Ryan... they're matching!!! That is way cute ;)

Engaged - Martha and Daniel, Weslaco, Texas

Congratulations to Martha and Daniel, just recently engaged!!!! 

Martha and Daniel have known each other for more than five years. And after loosing contact with one another good old facebook brought them to reconnect with each other. Martha is a fun and spunky young woman full of life. Daniel, he seems to be perfectly made to love Martha. The two of them together were so much fun to spend time with. As we strolled through the Estero Llano Grande for their engagement session, it felt more like three good friends meeting up for a nice hike rather than work.

All the laughter almost made me forget about how heavy my camera bag is, ouch! Although we did not have time to see some alligators, we did have plenty of time to capture them together, in love. I had only met Martha once briefly at a wedding fair but upon seeing her again I felt comfortable around her. Thankfully, she seemed comfortable in front of the camera as well, which makes my job way much easier. This was my first time meeting Daniel and he, too, was quite a natural.

We joked about falling in the water, wrestling some gators and about their future wedding plans. It was a lovely Sunday afternoon and am delighted to have learned a little more about the two of them - who they are as individuals and as a couple.

Martha and Daniel, thank you for allowing me to photograph the two of you in all of your loving bliss. The two of you are kind-hearted and very much in love with one another. I congratulate you on your engagement and wish you a very blessed marriage. Enjoy the wedding planning and, most importantly, see you soon ;)!

Wohoooooooo! It's Friday ;) Be blessed!